Exoneration Or Whitewash?

Samper Absolved, But Opponents Vow Protests

Cynicism Abounds--and Apathy, Too-- After Colombia's Congress Clears Its Presidents Of Charges That He Accepted As Much As $6 Million From The Cali Drug Cartel

June 14, 1996|By Colin McMahon, Tribune Staff Writer.

BOGOTA, Colombia — Two U.S. businessmen were having breakfast at a Bogota hotel Thursday when talk turned to the political scandal enveloping President Ernesto Samper.

The investors, already optimistic about future profits in Colombia, were heartened by Congress' midnight vote Wednesday to clear Samper of charges that he accepted campaign donations from Colombia's top drug traffickers. "It's all settled now," said one of the businessmen.

FOR THE RECORD - Additional material published June 15, 1996:Corrections and clarifications.A story Friday incorrectly identified the political party of Colombian President Ernesto Samper. He is a member of the Liberal Party. The Tribune regrets the error.

Nearby, a hotel worker shook his head. "They think it's over but it's not," the Colombian said. "The conflict continues."

Despite the legislature's 111-43 verdict against impeachment, Samper's opponents in and out of government bitterly vowed to oust him through a campaign of "civil resistance." Ironically for those U.S. businessmen, their own government is expected to turn up the heat as well.

Samper, however, has proven both tough and resilient.

Many observers wrote him off months ago, believing he would resign after Colombia's chief prosecutor charged him in February with illegal enrichment, electoral fraud and cover-up. Yet there he was Thursday, basking in victory, determined to complete a four-year term that ends in 1998.

"The president said all along, `Show me the proof. Show me the proof.' And they never did," said Daniel Martinez, a Bogota merchant and Samper supporter.

"If he were forced out, it would be chaos. He is like a captain of a ship, and the captain must stay on board," Martinez said.

Seizing the opportunity to portray himself as an anti-drug crusader, Samper went on national television Thursday night to announce a series of proposed laws that would toughen penalties for drug trafficking and money laundering.

Samper defended himself, defended the process that cleared him in Congress, and called on all Colombians to join "in a great collective efffort" to rid the country of drug corruption.

"Tonight the Colombian people, starting with my own children, can sleep more soundly because they know that they have an honest president," Samper said.

Opinion polls show that most Colombians believe Samper is guilty of accepting as much as $6 million from the Cali drug cartel. But working to the president's benefit is a widespread apathy about politics and in particular about the drug-money scandal, now nearly two years old.

On Tuesday, the last full night of congressional debate before the impeachment vote, crime stories rather than Samper coverage led the evening newscasts in Bogota.

Many Colombians saw the congressional inquiry as a farce, a can't-lose process for a president who controls not only the majority Labor Party but the federal treasury as well.

"The narco-traffickers get richer and richer. The politicians get richer and richer. And the poor stay poor," said Luis Rojas on Plaza Bolivar outside Congress on Wednesday. "That is why people don't care. That is why people don't vote. That is why I don't vote."

Samper's opponents outside the political realm are legion. They include Roman Catholic Church officials, who have mocked the president's claim that he never knew drug profits were pouring into his campaign coffers.

Business leaders in the capital, as well as in Cali and the industrial city of Medellin, fear that Samper's staying in office will isolate Colombia from U.S. and other foreign markets.

A meeting earlier this month of the anti-Samper Movement for National Reconstruction was expected to draw 2,000 business people. Instead, 4,000 people showed up at a Bogota hotel.

Ingrid Betancourt, a dissident member of Congress from Samper's own Labor Party, said opponents are planning a campaign of strikes and street protests to close banks, factories and businesses.

"What we are trying to do is make people in the street aware that this is a problem of principles," Betancourt said.

But so far, as evidenced by the dearth of activity outside the congressional building, Samper's opponents have been unable to mobilize large numbers of people.

A key factor over the next several weeks will be how the Clinton administration reacts to a verdict it did not want but knew was coming.

The U.S., which in March decertified Colombia as a nation meeting U.S. standards in fighting drug trafficking, can impose a wide range of sanctions.

Clinton can shut down banking ties with Colombia or bar Colombian airliners from landing on U.S. soil. Trade sanctions, such as restricting imports of Colombian flowers, also are being contemplated.

Analysts believe that Clinton would impose those measures, which probably would hurt U.S. businesses in turn, bit by bit.

According to The Associated Press, administration officials in Washington said Thursday that the U.S. would revoke visas of senior Colombian officials if Samper's government fails in coming weeks to show improvement in pursuing drug traffickers.

Visas of several officials suspected of corruption already have been pulled.